My Ascension (Part 4)

Reboots. We all hate 'em, am I right?

Well, if you were to poll the internet about pretty much any relaunch or reboot, you'd see that the shock of the new is enough to drive fanboys of any hobby into a frothing madness. This applies to the World of Darkness games I've been blathering on about for the last few posts.

In August 2004, White Wolf attempted to inject new life into the World of Darkness with some slick new RPG books, using character types that were similar in name and tone to the their previous line. Vampire: The Masquerade became Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Apocalypse became Werewolf: The Forsaken and so on and so forth. They also introduced some new character archetypes in the form of Promethean and Geist, referring to golems and ghosts respectively.

2004 was probably the peak of my personal interest in playing and running games. Back in those heady days, I'd run a D&D game here and there, a Star Wars session every once in a while, and a weekly World of Darkness campaign. Mage had been my favorite of the original line of books, so when the new edition, Mage: The Awakening was announced, I set aside my bias toward the old World of Darkness and decided to give the new stuff a go.

My initial impressions weren't positive. It had nothing to do with the new lore, clans, and powers but rather, the system itself had been modified by those sneaky little devils consumerism and synergy into something designed to sap a bit more money from eager gamers who wanted to dip their toe in d10.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the World of Darkness books could cross over, but were also capable of being played independently. For example, if the only book you had was Changeling, all the rules and systems were explained within and could carry over once you got a new book like Demon or Hunter. The new books that started dropping in 2004 employed a "core rulebook" a la D&D or Star Wars entitled, you guessed it, World of Darkness. Along with rules for normal "mortal" characters, this book had a foundation for the rules that was not replicated in the others. You had to at least buy this core book before you could dive into the others. It rubbed me the wrong way.

Wanting ever so badly to put my new books to use, I decided to let my frustrations go and embrace the New. Part of easing me into the process was the astounding work in the book Promethean: The Created. Promethean characters were tied to things like Frankenstein's Monster and the Jewish Golem; homunculi would wander the world long after their creators had passed, inadvertently harming the world (and other players) around them. These characters were antithetical to teamwork and were almost designed to be played solo. It was a burden to have one in your group. An interesting burden rife with storytelling potential.

The new Changeling lore was fascinating as well. Horrifying incidents like child abduction and substance abuse were reframed as the influence of things "from beyond", yet it was done in an ambiguous way to make players more paranoid. "Is this really my life?" "Is this really my son/daughter?" It was creepy and worked on levels well beyond the usual let's-fling-powers-at-each-other kind of thing that a lot of World of Darkness games could devolve into.

It's my impression that the New World of Darkness (funny I keep calling it new, it's over a decade old at this point) employed a tone within it's rules and explanations that rubbed people the wrong way. There was an emphasis on theater arts and certain terms that had been pen and paper staples up to that point were abandoned. It never really bothered me to be honest. Call 'em a "dungeon master" or a "storyteller" or a "chronicler", it still boils down to rolling dice, taking notes, and doing funny voices at one another. Nonetheless, this new attitude might have acted as another strike against it.

But don't fret, oldies. Even though this abominable reboot continues to thrive to this day, it will never erase your Masquerades or your Ascensions. As a famous author once noted when asked about theatrical versions of his works "ruining" the originals, "My books are fine. They're right there on the shelf."

Thanks for reading! Let me know how wrong I am in the comments section, or on Twitter where I go by the handle @ChrisBComics. And they call me that because occasionally I do a little Back Issue Diving.

Next time on Tabletop Legends - I'll be jumping back into the world of collectible card games and I'll give you a hint as to which one: It rhymes with Fraggin Mall Tee. See ya then!

Wizards of the Coast likes to cross the streams

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just re-release it."

That may very well be the motto of Wizards of the Coast. I can't say for sure, I've never been in their offices, but that does seem to be their formula for success. It's not just from a product standpoint either, it also applies to their game design philosophy.

If you compare the Pokemon card game and Magic: The Gathering, you'll quickly notice how similar the games are. They both use a finite resource (Lands in Magic and Energies in Pokemon) to pace the game and the manipulation of those resources can "swing" the game in one player's favor. With Magic, Richard Garfield and his team had stumbled onto a system that was infinitely malleable and with the five colors designed to balance one another out, a network of checks and balances formed over time. WotC's R&D department mined this when designing Pokemon. With fluffy cuddly anime creatures in place of gothic horror and medieval trappings, they could sell their core game to a whole new audience of little kids and video gamers.

Now let's look at Dungeons & Dragons for a second. D&D employed an ever expanding system of dice, maps, counters, and character sheets. It evolved over time and from publisher to publisher to include new varieties of dice and more complex, intricate rules. The more complex it got, the more potential there was for character nuance. There were only a handful of classes early on, but by the time we got Third Edition, there were several options for players of all personality types. Hand to hand fighters could embrace the Monk class rather than just be "yet another fighter" and spell casters could now come in a plethora of flavors, whether they be religious in nature like the cleric or arcane in nature like the sorcerer.

WotC's Third Edition D&D products were big sellers and the d20 system itself caught on the same way a game development kit like the Unreal engine might. It could be shaped to any setting with just a few tweaks and changes to terminology. So when Star Wars original tabletop outing from West End Games flopped, who do you think was there, ready to graft their coveted new d20 system onto an established (and very profitable) property?

Oh, and did I mention Star Wars Episode One was on the horizon?

 The Star Wars Role Playing Game was quite a brilliant little piece of plastic surgery. If you peel back the layers even the tiniest bit, the game's D&D roots show through, and not just because of the dice and character sheets. Magic employed by spell casters in D&D was converted into The Force. Rather than the limitations brought on by spells per day, players had to spend "force points" to commit feats like grabbing a weapon that had been knocked from one's hand or zapping a foe with lightning.

Speaking of Force Lightning, the morality/alignment system that had been a staple in D&D was modified quite cleverly into a Light Side/ Dark Side mechanic. Characters who enacted heinous deeds would become drawn to and corrupted by the dark side of the force, a curse that could sometimes manifest in deformities and other grotesque punishments.

(One thing I really dig about the Star Wars d20 game is how the whole game can be played from one core rulebook. No monster manual or dungeon master's guide required, although there are Star Wars-themed equivalents if you want to expand your universe and go beyond the films.)

I'll always refer to myself as a dungeon master, but if I were to tally all the hours spent in either of the two primary d20 settings, my time in the stars fighting the Empire probably dwarfs my time fighting beholders and kobolds. This was the game that taught me how to run a game as well. After a friend and I attended a game session featuring some of the "cooler, older high school kids", I saw how a DM (or GM in the case of Star Wars) conducted oneself and how communication with the players and setting a scene could enthrall a group of people.

Anyway, kudos to WotC, soulless corporation that I'm sure they are, for perfecting a formula and unleashing it on my pre-teen mind. They might paint your trash gold and try to sell it back to you, but remember: as much as you might take issue with the changes in Fifth Edition or Sixth Edition or whatever they're on at this point, there's some dork like you who's going to experience it for the first time.

Thanks for reading!
Twitter: @ChrisBComics
E-Mail: backissuechris@gmail.com